Environmental Management

Overview :

Our project interventions are aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions and combating climate change at the local level through:

• • Production and provision of energy-saving stoves to targeted households;
  • Training farmers on climate-smart agricultural practices;
  • Establishment of woodlots and tree nurseries;
  • Conducting Participatory Assessment of Climate and Disaster Risks (PACDR) – in Kisumu, Siaya & Homabay counties.

We conducted a Participatory Assessment of Climate and Disaster Risks (PACDR) entailing a participatory approach that integrates climate and disaster risks and considerations into community planning and development. The approach builds on improving the adaptive capacity of households and communities in Kisumu (Seme Sub County), Siaya (Alego Usonga and Gem Sub counties) and Homabay Counties (Rachuonyo East Sub County. The PACDR commenced 1st of February 2023 with a three days training and a data collection phase in 8 sampled villages between 14th February 2023 and 3rd March 2023. The main goal of the assessment is to enhance the capacity of targeted households and communities in Kisumu (Seme Sub County), Siaya (Alego Usonga and Gem Sub counties) and Homabay Counties (Rachuonyo East Sub County) to adapt new climatic practices and approaches while depending on their natural, human, financial, social and governance systems in Kisumu (Seme Sub County), Siaya (Alego Usonga and Gem Sub counties) and Homabay Counties (Rachuonyo East Sub County).

The outcome of the participatory approach is critical for implementing climate-friendly strategies that takes into account hazards, risks, global warming and local responses through a community led action plan. This assessment informs ongoing FOSEMA II projects activities in the targeted project areas. The assessment relied significantly on local participation in the identification of hazards, prioritization of risks and in the development of community strategies for effective response to climate risks and disasters. The assessment entailed a structured and participatory data collection and analysis of community generated data/information. The assessment target 8 purposively sampled villages drawn from Kisumu (Seme Sub County), Siaya (Alego Usonga and Gem Sub counties) and Homabay Counties (Rachuonyo East Sub County) project areas. The data collection processes was followed by analysis, interpretation and documentation of the PACDR report. The assessment entailed both primary and secondary data collection. The primary data collection entailed practical activities with target community members using participatory PACDR tools for conducting climate change hazard analysis, vulnerability assessment, response matrix, development of adaptation strategies and community action planning. The secondary data collection entailed literature review of documents and publications aimed at; identifying how climate change and disasters may affect the community, national/county policies, and mapping of other organizations that may have useful resources and planned activities related to responding effectively to climate impacts and disasters.
Climate change is becoming one of the most serious challenges to Kenya’s achievement of its development goals as described under Vision 2030. Kenya is already extremely susceptible to climate-related events, and projections indicate that the impacts are likely to affect the country even more in the future. In many areas, extreme events and variability of weather are now the norm: rainfall is irregular and unpredictable; some regions experience frequent droughts during the long rainy season, others severe floods during the short rains. FOSEMA project areas are affected by these climate hazards, thereby putting the lives of targeted households and their social and economic activities at risk. The assessment findings herein entail an analysis of the vulnerabilities and risks posed by the climatic risks and hazards that are potentially most harmful to the respective livelihoods of communities in 8 villages in Kisumu (Seme Sub County), Siaya (Alego Usonga and Gem Sub counties) and Homabay Counties (Rachuonyo East Sub County) project areas.

A key component of this PACDR was climate hazard analysis. The analysis entailed a participatory hazard mapping exercise that was designed to develop a map of hazards, assets and resources in the targeted project areas. This analysis was undertaken through development of a seasonal calendar that shows when periods of hazard related stress occur and prioritization of the identified hazards for further community analysis. During the assessment the hazards considered included extreme weather events such as floods, droughts, lake or river level rise, the erosion and cliffs, and changes in tides and rivers. Findings from the PACDR also revealed various climate induced hazards affecting communities in the project area.